Fresh fruit keeps doctors away

In order to remain vibrant and healthy, you need to consume about 40 kinds of essential nutrients every day. You should avoid problems related to an unbalanced diet by eating a variety of foods. However, as the Korean lifestyle is growing increasingly Westernized, the consumption of instant and processed foods has markedly increased, causing great concern among nutritionists. If you skip a meal or eat instant or processed foods frequently, it is difficult to maintain good health. As a doctor, I`d like to make some recommendations about eating.

To begin with, you should eat fresh vegetables and fruits at every meal. Canned vegetables and juice are not as good for, so you should try to eat only fresh produce and as soon as possible after washing or peeling them. Green tea is rich in anti-oxidants, whether served cold or hot, so I recommend that you drink its as often as you can.

Among oils, olive oil is known to be the best but sesame and perilla oils are good, too. Any oil degenerates when it is used several times and has a detrimental effect on the human body. Overall, fried food is not good for your health.

One of the most frequently consumed foods among people who live long, healthy lives is beans. Beans, tofu, soy bean milk and peanuts all contain a lot of vegetable protein that helps people live longer. They also have various other essential nutrients such as anti-oxidants and magnesium.

It is a widely known fact that fish like mackerel and sardine contain nutrients like DHA that are helpful for extending life spans. I`d like to recommend that you consume these fish at least three times a week.

Nothing could be better than to add three glasses of wine a day to the diet. People say that red wine is the best but I would say that the effects of other alcohols are similar. But you should make it a rule not to drink more than three glasses a day. Those who consume the proper amount of wine every day, considering it a food rather than an alcohol, will be less vulnerable to diseases such as hardening of the arteries and heart failure.

Beside the food items I mentioned above, there are countless other foods that have their own merits. The most important thing is to consume a variety of foods when they are in season.